Overview
- Pakistan kept its delegation in Istanbul after hosts asked it to continue negotiations that had been declared unsuccessful earlier this week.
- The agenda centers on Islamabad’s demand that Afghan territory not be used for attacks and that Kabul take clear, verifiable, effective action against militants.
- Turkey and Qatar are mediating the effort, with Afghan state broadcaster RTA saying talks will resume and blaming the prior breakdown on Pakistani demands.
- Pakistan says it presented indisputable evidence of cross-border militant activity that hosts and the Afghan side acknowledged but says it received no practical assurances.
- A Doha-brokered ceasefire largely holds with major crossings closed and trade disrupted, UN data cite at least 50 Afghan civilian deaths and 447 wounded in a week of fighting, Pakistan reports 23 soldiers killed, and officials warn of potential strikes if attacks persist.